Every part of India has something new and different to offer right from beautiful valleys of Kashmir, to the backwaters of Kerala. India is a goldmine of adventure destinations across various domains. All adventure enthusiasts in India have reason to look forward to adventurous escapades. Previously the adventure space was limited to trekking or rock climbing but today there is the whole gamut of adventure sports.
The young Indians are continuously looking to become global and be equal to western counterparts in every way. The outdoor gear market which mainly consists of apparel, footwear, tents, backpack and sleeping bags has been growing solidly across major developing and developed countries. 10kya.com is a 360º marketplace focused on adventure, outdoors and sports has become customer’s own platform where they sell or rent their own gear whether it is used or unused.
Adventurous Leader of 10kya
With over thirty years of experience in some of the leading IT and Telecom companies, Sharad Gupta is the CEO and Founder of the 10kya.com.Entrepreneur by nature, Sharad has been always interested in outdoors activities. He has done mountaineering, skiing and rock climbing courses from Mountaineering Institute, Manali. He is an avid photographer of nature, bird and wildlife.
Sharad started his carrier in Indian Army but gave up that career because of injury. Before founding 10kya, Sharad has given his fruitful contribution to several leading corporates like HCL, PCL, Airtel, etc. His last assignment before he launched 10kya was as a Chief Customer Experience Officer with Etisalat, India. Sharad handles technology, development & marketing experience in this company. With strong technical knowhow, Sharad have led many successful startups and Greenfield launches.
A 360º Marketplace for Cost Effective Services
10kya.com is a 360º marketplace where sellers are not only able to sell gear but also offer the same on the rentals. On this platform customer can also offer their gear for sale as well as offer it for rentals in their community and social network. Customers also use company’s blog to share their adventures and give advice to others.
Customers get to choose and rent or buy gear and equipment that are not available in offline stores. Even in the Metros, there are a few stores that have retail equipment but at exorbitant prices. 10kya makes the same equipment available in the nook and cranny of the country, not only at best prices but also on rentals. The large music festivals hosting four hundred plus people in tents for three to four nights have used the company’s rental services.
Converting Challenges into Assets
While the market for adventure and outdoors is growing extremely fast, there was no availability of quality gear and apparel suited for the same. Good quality gears also costs a lot. That was restricting the market growth.10kya bridged that gap by not only offering the gear at optimum margins but also by providing on rentals.
The task of growing the market while acquiring the customers is the biggest challenge for the company. Many customers feel pleasant surprise when they find out about 10kya offering a wide range of product on sale and rental.
Happy Customers of 10kya
10kya have created a unique place in the market by creating a unique technology platform which makes a 360º interaction for customer. Large and loyal customer bases of two lac customers are driving more customers towards company by word of mouth. The cost of customer acquisition has now come below fifty rupees per new customer.
The company key strategy is to involve their customer into business so that they add new or pre-owned products for sale or rental. The customers give references of latest equipment available in global market. Because of the customer evolvement the platform is constantly evolving and gives an edge to company in this competitive market.
Future Ahead
The company expects to grow their customer to customer transactions to more than eighty percentages of their transactions by way of C2C or P2P rentals and sales. Thereafter, the platform will also enable and empower customers to create their expeditions, get expeditions members and form like-minded social circles.
The company future plan includes a fully developed planning, executing and survival app for outdoor adventures. The company is also planning to bring their products especially on rentals, closer to customer by opening point of presence and key location.
Source :-The 30 fastest growing companies in 2018
Mplace Edventures: The 360º Platform for Adventure and Outdoor Sport Services
